GUNS/BARMS

[Matey]

This is from a friend in the know.

I am posting this very long message (actually two messages). I believe you should know who-supports-who, before you spend your money on sporting/outdoors products, so I did the research and this is what I found.

The decision of where to spend your money is yours. Hopefully, this will
give you more information.

The first item is a press release from several manufactures/distributors
that were supporting Kerry, in the last election. The second item is a
response from Tim Leatherman of Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. (a Kerry
supporter) to someone who inquired to Mr. Leatherman about his position.

=====================

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040914/145916_1.html

Press Release Source: Cascade Designs, Inc.

Top Business Leaders from the Outdoor Industry Endorse Kerry-Edwards
Tuesday September 14, 2:24 pm ET
The Health of the Great American Outdoors is at Stake

OREGON CITY, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2004--Senior executives from
leading outdoor manufacturers, retailers and associations across the
country gathered today to endorse Senator John Kerry for President and
Senator John Edwards for Vice President. They announced their endorsement
at a press conference with Senator John Edwards at Clackamus Community
College in Oregon City, Oregon.

"We have come together to endorse Senators Kerry and Edwards because they
share our values and goals," said Lee Fromson, president of Seattle-based
Cascade Designs, Inc., a leading manufacturer of outdoor equipment. "And we
are here today because the Great American Outdoors is in serious jeopardy
and if we fail at protecting the outdoors then our businesses will fail,
our health will fail and we will leave future generations with air they
can't breathe and water they can't drink."

Remarks by Senator John Edwards and Cascade Design's Lee Fromson carried
common themes:

* We must clean up the air we breathe and the water we drink or the
health of all Americans will suffer
* We must provide more venues and opportunities for outdoor recreation
for the 150 million Americans who actively enjoy outdoor recreation
* We must treasure our national parks for recreation and not the
industries that mine them for treasure
* We must lower health care costs to stay in business. This is true
for all businesses not just our own.

"Our national parks are severely under-funded resulting in rampant
understaffing, site closures, eliminated visitor education programs,
neglected cultural and natural resource preservation and unsafe trails,"
said Peter Bragdon, vice president and general counsel of Columbia
Sportswear. "Protecting our parks and open space is essential to the health
of my business, the outdoor industry at large and to the many States whose
economies depend upon tourism and recreation, not to mention the millions
upon millions of Americans who enjoy the Great American Outdoors each year."

"Health care is the hardest decision I have to make each year as a business
owner," said Paul Fish, president of Mountain Gear in Spokane, WA. "I want
to provide my employees and their families with quality care but the cost
of doing so weakens the very business we are trying to build together."

Executives attending today's event included: Lee Fromson, president,
Cascade Designs, Inc.(Seattle, WA); Peter Bragden, vice president, general
counsel, Columbia Sportswear (Portland, Oregon); Menno Van Wyk, CEO
Montrail (Seattle, WA); Paul Fish, president Mountain Gear (Spokane, WA);
Carn Nielsen, vice president, Mountain Gear (Spokane, WA); Dan Nordstrom,
CEO Outdoor Research (Seattle, WA); Jeff Bowman, vice president, Cascade
Designs, Inc. (Seattle, WA); Doug Phillips, president, Metolius Climbing
(Bend, OR); Tim Leatherman, president, Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.
(Portland, OR); Dunham Gooding, president, American Alpine Institute, Ltd
(Bellingham, WA); Brian Bennett, national accounts manager, Patagonia
(Ventura, CA)

Outdoor businesses depend on abundant and available recreation
opportunities so their customers can enjoy outdoor activities. In return,
outdoor businesses employ over a million Americans, contribute $18 billion
to the U.S. economy and work closely together to promote an active and
healthy lifestyle to the 149 million Americans who enjoy the great American
outdoors.
#

September 14, 2004

Dear Fellow Americans:

We are business leaders in the outdoor industry and we have come together
because we can no longer be silent. Outdoor businesses depend on abundant
and available recreation opportunities so our customers can enjoy outdoor
activities. In return, outdoor businesses employ over a million Americans,
contribute $18 billion to the U.S. economy and work together to promote an
active and healthy lifestyle to the 149 million Americans who love the
great American outdoors.

In our opinion increasing the number of venues for active outdoor
recreation, staunchly protecting the environment, bolstering recreation and
conservation funding to our public land agencies and reducing health care
costs go hand-in-hand. They are essential for the health and well being of
the outdoor industry and its customers.

Senators John Kerry and John Edwards share our values and goals. They know
that promoting active outdoor recreation promotes good health. They know
that proactively protecting and supporting public lands for recreational
use means future generations will enjoy them too. They know that improving
the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink is not negotiable
for any industry or business in America. They know that health care costs
will continue to increase unless we are united in reducing obesity in America.

John Kerry and John Edwards are committed to preserving our national parks
for the benefit of current and future generations. President Bush has
promoted policies that break that commitment and endanger the future
sustainability of our national parks. President Bush's policies have
severely under-funded our national parks resulting in rampant
understaffing, site closures, elimination of visitor education programs and
neglected cultural and natural resource preservation, demonstrating
indifference towards unsafe trails, unclear facilities and the growing
shortage of safety staff.

As importantly, the Bush administration has rolled back basic environmental
protections that undermine parks including:

* Rolling back Clean Air Act requirements that ensure visibility and
healthy visits to our national parks;
* Eliminating federal protections for our public lands that will allow
mining, logging and development in national forests;
* Slashing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which enables the
National Park Service to acquire new land and protect and enhance existing
parks facilities.

In contrast John Kerry and John Edwards have a plan to protect the scenic
landscapes and vistas for the appreciation of future generations through
rigorous enforcement of clean air and water regulations and will preserve
the resources that embody our cultural heritage through committed funding
for parks operations by:
# Increasing the operating budget of the National Park Service by $600
million will put our parks back on the path toward recovery and
restoration. We will pay for this important objective by modernizing the
sale of mineral rights and using the revenue generated to increase the
operating budgets of our national parks.

We know that Senator Kerry is a champion on the environmental issues that
are central to our industry and customers. We also believe that Senator
Kerry's economic and health care policies will keep our businesses
competitive and health care affordable.

Therefore, we the undersigned are proud to endorse Senator Kerry as the
next President of the United States.

Sincerely,

Lee Fromson, president, Cascade Designs (Seattle, WA)

Peter Bragden, vice president, general counsel, Columbia Sportswear
(Portland, Oregon)

Menno Van Wyk, CEO, Montrail (Seattle, WA)

Paul Fish, president, Mountain Gear (Spokane, WA)

Carn Nielsen, vice president, Mountain Gear (Spokane, WA)

Dan Nordstrom, CEO, Outdoor Research (Seattle, WA)

Jeff Bowman, vice president, Cascade Designs (Seattle, WA)

Doug Phillips, president, Metolius Climbing (Bend, OR)

Tim Leatherman, president, Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. (Portland, OR)

Dunham Gooding, president, American Alpine Institute, Ltd (Bellingham, WA)

Larry Harrison, president, Earth Games (San Clemente, CA)

Jim Clark, CEO, Watermark (Arcata, CA)

Steve Barker, CEO, Eagle Creek Travel Gear (San Diego, CA)

Peter Metcalf, CEO, Black Diamond (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Ashley Korenblat, president, Western Spirit Cycling (Moab, Utah)

Mike Wallenfels, vice president, Mountain Hardware (Richmond, CA)

Roody Rasmussen, CEO, Petzl America (Clearfield, UT)

Tony Post, president, Vibram (Concord, MA)

Kelly Stone, director sales and marketing, Werner Paddles (Seattle, WA)

Joe Hyer, president, Alpine Experience (Olympia, WA)

Mike Sullivan, president, Sullivan Agency (Wimberley, TX)

Bob Olsen, president, Peregrine Outfitters (Williston, VT)

Michael Crooke, CEO, Patagonia (Ventura, CA)

Brian Bennett, director national accounts, Patagonia (Ventura, CA)

Adam Forest, managing partner, The Forest Group (Lotus, CA)

Gordon Seabury, president, Horny Toad Activewear (Santa Barbara, CA)

Paul Gagner, vice president, Gregory Mountain Products (Temecula, CA)

Tom Campion, founder and chairman, Zumiez Inc. (Everett, WA)

Malcolm Daly, president, Trango (Boulder, CO)

Rodney Smith, president, American Outdoor Products (Boulder, CO)

Joan Keller, president, Le Travel Store (San Diego, CA)
Contact:

For Cascade Designs, Inc.
Martha Keeley, 978-468-8961


Source: Cascade Designs, Inc.

=====================

Dear XXXXXX,

I have received lots of e-mails because of my endorsement of the
Kerry/Edwards ticket. Some of you merely made an inquiry as to whether it
was true. Some of you supported my position. Some of you opposed, but
were polite, and offered well reasoned arguments as why I should not have
done what I did - interesting food for thought.

Far more of you stated very, very emphatically that you were no longer
going to buy LEATHERMAN products and were going to tell family, friends,
co-workers, and everyone else with whom you come in contact to no longer do
so either. Some used unbelievably crude and vulgar language. Some made
accusations, that if proven, would get me executed. At least one of you
stated you hope I'll rot in the place the opposite of heaven. Most of you,
merely because I publicly stated how I was going to vote, jumped to a lot
of unjustified and untrue conclusions about my positions on the issues.

I did endorse Kerry/Edwards. However, the endorsement was personal. No
corporate money (or personal either, for that matter), was contributed to
any candidate, any party, PAC, or any political entity what-so-ever. In
the endorsement I did include my job title and the company I work for, and
since my name and the company name are the same, many of you said the
endorsement was by the company. Some of you say claiming after the fact
that the endorsement was personal isn't good enough to escape your
wrath. If you were one of them, I don't think anything I can say will
change your mind. If you were not one of them, you'll have to decide for
yourself.

For many of you, gun control was your one and only issue. Some of you saw
Kerry (and still see - I am still getting e-mails written as if the
election had not yet occurred) quite literally as an enemy (or worse) for
one thing and only one thing - because of how you feel he feels about gun
control. One person went so far as to tell me that I am his enemy because
being a friend of his enemy makes me his enemy. Amazingly, all those
people decided to boycott my company and called me all those names without
a single one asking me my position on gun control. My position is,
assuming you are a law abiding citizen and own weapons that are legal to
own, that no one should be able to take your guns away from you. I own a
rifle and shotgun myself.

Some of you have jumped to the conclusion that I don't want hunters and
fishermen (and women) to have access to public lands for hunting and
fishing. That is incorrect. I too am a hunter and fisherman.

Some of you have jumped to the conclusion that I am anti-military. I am
not. I think some wars need to be fought. Some of you think I am anti
Vietnam era veterans. I am not. I have never been in the military, but I
lived in Vietnam for over two years (Aug. '72 - April '75). I am probably
one of the few Americans of my generation to pay his own way to get there.
Just because I said I was going to vote for Kerry didn't mean that I
supported every position Kerry took. And I acknowledge, there were times
when it was tough to figure out what his position was. I did (and do)
believe that some of the things George W. Bush did during his first term in
office were not good for the country. Overall, I felt we needed a change
of leadership, but a majority of the country thought otherwise.

Almost all of you said I have a right to my opinion, but having stated my
opinion, you have a right to try to punish me economically by not buying
LEATHERMAN tools. I agree. You do. With your personal money. (Not
government money. See below.) Some of you were concerned that by buying
LEATHERMAN tools company funds would go to support political candidates in
which you did not believe. I have already assured you that neither company
funds nor personal funds went to any candidate, party, PAC, or other
political entity. It also seems to me you are being highly selective in
only going after those of us who were willing to stand up and state our
opinion and not require someone from every company from which you buy
anything to state a politically correct opinion or risk a boycott. Also,
it seems unfair to me to penalize all the employees of a company when one
of the employees states an opinion you oppose. Over 300 people work at
Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. Many employees do not share my opinions. U.S.
manufacturing jobs are already disappearing fast enough without taking a
hit from those of you who undoubtedly consider yourselves to be patriotic
Americans.

Most of you are worried about encroachments on your rights. I'm worried
too. Some of you say you work for government agencies, and have control
over purchases for your agency, and that you will no longer buy LEATHERMAN
tools because of how I voted. I would think that is illegal. How would
you feel if it comes to the point that individual government employees make
decisions on government purchases or providing government services based on
the public positions you are taking? How would you feel if a fire fighter
refused to come to your home to put out a fire because he or she didn't
like something you said in public?

It seems to me more reasonable to consider whether to buy a product on the
merits of the product itself, not on how one of the employees of the
company said he was going to vote.

I have to admit I was surprised by the outpouring of response. Some of you
pointed out it's Business 101 to not offend your customers. Now that I am
looking back, I agree with you. I guess my problem is that I never took
Business 101. I graduated in Engineering. And I never realized that
merely publicly stating how I was going to vote would bring such virulent
responses. I would have thought that if you didn't agree with how I was
going to vote, but knowing I had already decided, you would have put your
efforts into convincing the undecided to vote your way, rather than try to
convince me to change my mind, but I guess you didn't see it that way.

I hope I have given enough information so that those of you who still have
open minds can decide how you feel about LEATHERMAN. If not, I'd be happy
to answer any questions you might have.

Tim Leatherman
President
Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.

P.S. If you are in contact with anyone who e-mailed me, but said I never
responded, ask them to check their spam filters. Some of you have set your
spam filters so high that my response won't go through.